Half to paul sanguineti and john b



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets Sheet 1 W H. TRAVIS.

I ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS. No. 366,355. Patented July 12, 1887.

\ lPrEl IlrrELll (No Model?) 7 I 2- Sheets-Sheet 2.

- H. TRAVIS ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS.

No. 366,355. Patented Ju1 12, 1887.

q q i-fma ooeo nphur. Walhing'nn, o. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOPAUL SANGUINETI AND JOHN B. DAVEGGI O, BOTH-OF SAME PLACE.

ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,355, dated July 12,1887.

I Application filed February 5, 1887. Serial No. 226,691. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Attachmentsfor 1Drums, of which the following is a specifica- D.

My invention relates to attachments for IO drums; and it consists inacertain novel construction and combination of devices, fully set forthhereinafter and claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide a bell attachment for a drum inwhich the sound of the bell when struck will be clearer than is possiblewith the means now employed.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby the propertapping of the bell may be effected with more certainty and a moreperfect tone produced than is possible when the bell itself is struckwith the drumstick.

A further object is to provide means whereby a bell may be struck a veryrapid succession of strokes and the sound produced be either loud orsubdued to suit the character of the piece and the wishes of theperformer.

A further object of my invention is to provide a castanet attachment fora drum, which castanets may be sounded by the drumsticks or by the handof the operator.

7 ,It is usual when a tapping sound is required in an orchestralproduction for the drummer to strike the side or the rim of the drum.

My castanet attachment will be found far superior to that method, inthat the sound is clearer, more cracking, and also that the tapping canbe more satisfactorily accomplished, as the top of the castanet can bemore easily 4O struck than the rim of the drum.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of anordinary snare-drum provided with my bell and castanet attachments. Fig.2 is a side elevation of the same,

showing one of the bell attachments. Fig. 3 is a detail view of thecastanet' attachment.

I Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 5 is a transversesection of same through the z t. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detail views.

Referringto the drawings, in which similar letters denote correspondingparts in all the figures, A is a drum having the usual upper rim orhoop, B. I show two bell attachments,

O D, one of which, 0, is to be used to produce a loud sound, and theother, D, to be used 5 when it is desired to play very softly. The bellsE E are suspended at the side of the drum by wire supports F F, whichare rigidly secured at their upper ends to the plates G G, bolted to therim of the drum, and are bent at right angles at their lower ends toform the posts H H for the support of the bells, the latter beingsecured in the usual manner to the posts H H. Thus the bells aresuspended out of contact with the drum and will give a clear sound whenstruck.

The striking device for the bell E consists of a wire spring, K, havingthe ball or striker k on the free end, which ball or striker issustained or suspended a short distance abovethe said bell. The wirespring K has a simplehalf-bend at L, and is then passed under a clip, I,bolted to a plate, M, and the extremity of the said wire is providedwith a loop, Z, also bolted to the said plate M, which plate is thenbolted or otherwise secured to the rinrB of the drum. r

N is a flat striking or contact surface rigidly secured to the top ofthe wire spring'K and adapted to be struck by the drumstick. It will beseen that when the surface N is struck the striker or ball will bedriven against the bell in opposition to the action of the spring, whichin this case is considerable. The action of the spring is very rapid,however, and the S5 striker or ball is returned to its normal position,ready to be operated as before.

The striking device for the bell E is identical with the device E, withthe exception that instead of having the wire spring K made with asingle half-turn it is made with two or more turns or coils, L, thusenabling the bell to be struck and rung by a lighter tap on thestriking-surface N. Thus, by providing the drum with two bells,theperformer is enabled 5 to play-either loudly or softly at will, and tochange from one to the other as quickly and as often as desired.

ing above the rim of the drum.

a a are thin cushions or pads on the striking-surfaces to prevent thedrumstiek from making a cracking sound when the said surfaces are struckby it.

My castanet attachment 1 consists of the ordinary shell-shaped members QQ, having the projections or lugs q q. R is a plate se' cured to theupper side of the lug q of the shell Q, and has the depending ears r1 oneither side of the lug Q, said ears being pro vided with the alignedopenings 0" r.

S is a plate secured on the under side of the lug q of the shell Q, andhas the verticallyproject-ing ears 8 5;, having aligned openings 8' s. Abolt or pin, T, is passed through the aligned openings r r s s, andpivotally secures the two shells together.

U are cars depending from the under side of the plate S and adapted toembrace the upper edge of the rim B. Said ears have aligned openingstherein, and a bolt, a, passing through them and the rim I3, secures thecastanets rigidly to the drum.

V V are spiral springs secured'on the pin or bolt T and adapted tonormally hold the shells of the castanct apart.

\V is a thumb screw passing through a threaded opening in the rear ofthe plate R, and also through an opening in the ing (1, and bearing atthe lower end in a socket, to, in the lug q. It will be seen that bymanipulating the said thumbscrew the distance between the contact endsof the shells Q Q may be varied to suit the purpose and the taste of theperformer. It is evident that if the upper shell (which is movable andheld by the springs V V from contact with the rigid lower shell) isstruck the peculiar cracking sound of the castanet will be produced, andas the upper shell, after being caused to strike the lower one, willinstantly be drawn back by the said springs and caused to assume itsnormal position, the blows may be very rapidly repeated and produce aresult utterly unattainable when the rim of the drum is struck by thesticks.

Thus I provide convenient means of ringing a bell and playing thecastancts, and the result in both cases is better than can be attainedby the ordinary methods.

The means which Iprovide for applying the bell places it entirely out ofthe way of the performer, the striking-surface Nonly be- This causes thedevice to have a very neat appearance, and enables the performer toproduce much more satisfactory results.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. The combination, withthe drum, of a bell suspended from and depending below the rim thereof,and a striking device consisting of a spring having one end secured to-a plate which is bolted to the rim of the drum, and having its otherend arranged over the bell, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a drum, of a bell depending from the rim of thesame, and a striking device, said striking device consisting of aspriuguod bent or coiled at or near its center and having its endsextended approximately parallel with each other, one endbeing secured toa plate bolted to the rim of the drum and the other end being arrangedover the bell and carrying a striker, substantiall y as set forth.

3. In combination with the drum, the castanet l,secured thereto andadapted to be operated by the stick or hand of the performer,

substantially as described.

4.. A drum having a castanet attachment comprising the shells Q, Q,pivoted together and adapted to be normally held apart by a spring, andadapted when struck to be brought in contact to give the peculiar soundof the castanet, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a castanet attachment for a drum, the shells Q Q and plate It onthe upper shell, combined with the plate S on the lower shell, saidplates It S being connected together by a pivot-bolt, substantially asdescribed, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a castanct attachment for a drum, the shells having the lugs q gat the rear ends thereof, said lugs being pivoted together,substantially as described.

7. In a castanet attachment for a drum, the pivoted shells, combinedwith the depending ears U on the lower shell, adapted to clasp the rimof the drum and be secured thereon, substantially as described, for thepurpose set forth.

8. In a castanchthe shells Q Q, plates R S, secured thereon, and havingears 0' .3, through which passes the pivot-bolt T to secure the shellstogether, combined with the spiral springs V V, secured on the boltT,and adapted to normally hold the shells out ofcontact, sulr stantiallyas described.

9. In a castanet, the shells pivotally attached at a short distance fromthe rear end on a pin or bolt and normallyheld out ofcontact, combinedwith the thumb-screw IV, to regulate the distance between the strikingor contact ends of the shells, substantially as and for the purposeherein set forth.

In testimony thatI claim theloregoing as my own I have hereto affixed mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS.

Witnesses:

H. M; Emacs, L. DENAN.

